Don’t judge a book by its cover is an idiomatic expression. It means: “don’t judge someone or something just by looking at them” or “don’t count on appearance to judge people and things”.
This expression is used daily and it is listed with the 50 most useful idioms. It is really useful and native speakers use it almost all the time!
So if someone tells you “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, don’t be surprised that there is no book in the context! It doesn’t have to be a book there around! They just want to tell you that things can be different than they appear!
Sometimes you see a nice and shiny book cover. You may think it’s a great book but when you read it you find it useless!
On the opposite side, you can find a badly designed book cover. You may think the book is bad too but it can be a very important and helpful book! So don’t judge a book by its cover!
Examples of “Don’t judge a book by its cover”
A: I hate your new friend, he looks scary!
B: Don’t judge a book by its cover! He is a good person.
I remember a situation where the expression can really make sense: There were three persons (let’s say Ahmed, Brian and Carl).
Carl was poor and Ahmed was rich. Ahmed and Carl were neighbors. Ahmed was a generous person. He was giving money and food to Carl indirectly. He gives money to Brian and Brian gives it to Carl without telling him.
Carl: Thank you Brian, you are really a good person. You have been giving me money for the last few last years!
Brian: But… It is just…
Carl: You know, my neighbor Ahmed is rich and he never gave me money! He is a bad person!
Brian: Don’t judge a book by its cover Carl!
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